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My Little Pony: Equestria Girls gallery

What parents need to know

These movies are more about entertaining than educating viewers, but there are positive messages about teamwork, friendship, and believing in yourself.

Positive messages

The movie's themes include overcoming self doubt, rising to the occasion of being a good leader, defending your friends, and working with others who can help you meet your goals.

Positive role models

Twilight and her friends are all loyal and overcome any petty issues they have with each other to work together and save Equestria. The Ponyville ponies are all kind and generous, but they also speak their minds and tell each other when they're upset or disappointed.

Violence & scariness

Sunset Shimmer is mean to Twilight Sparkle and eventually steals her crown and tries to wield its power in a menacing way. She turns into a demonic winged creature and summons an army to invade Equestria until Twilight Sparkle stops her.

Sexy stuff

In her human form, Twilight Sparkle has a crush on Flash, who asks her to the Fall Formal.

Language

Not applicable

Consumerism

All of the My Little Pony movies (and the TV show on the Hasbro-owned The Hub) have a tie-in to the popular Hasbro toy line. Not only are there special Equestria Girl toy figurines, but there are also computer games, accessories, and apparel.

Drinking, drugs, & smoking

Not applicable

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that My Little Pony: Equestria Girls is the latest movie stemming from the popular Hasbro toy line and TV show My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. The ponies are back in vogue with everyone from toddlers to teenagers, so the movie could appeal to a wider age range than parents might expect. The content is mostly fine for even the youngest viewers, but there is a tiny bit of romance -- Twilight Sparkle has a crush on Flash -- and a bullying, power-hungry villain (Sunset Shimmer) who turns into a winged evil creature by the end of the story. Being a Pony movie, everything turns out just fine, and the Ponyville friends prove that together they can always overcome any obstacle.

User reviews

Parents say

Kids say

What's the story?

In MY LITTLE PONY: EQUESTRIA GIRLS, newly crowned Princess Twilight Sparkle (voiced by Tara Strong) attends her first Princess Summit with her Ponyville friends in tow. Jealous of Twilight's position, the status-seeking Sunset Shimmer (Rebecca Shoichet) tries to steal the crown, but it falls through a magical mirror. After Sunset Shimmer follows the crown through the portal, Princess Celestia (Nicole Oliver) instructs Twilight to go alone on a mission to retrieve her crown. Twilight's pet dragon Spike (Cathy Weseluck) manages to sneak through with her, and when they land on the other side, the princess is human and Spike ends up a dog. In the parallel universe, Twilight, now a teen girl, encounters the human versions of all her friends at school, flirts with a boy named Flash, all while tracking down her crown before Sunset Shimmer claims it.

Is it any good?

QUALITY

It's fashionable to be enamored with the My Little Pony franchise; just walk into any middle school or a teen-friendly T-shirt store, and you'll find that the pony craze goes way beyond preschool-aged girls (heard of Bronies?). So it's no surprise that Hasbro is putting a spin on their cash cow of the pony universe to literally transform the ponies into teenagers. The dimension travel conceit is incredibly simple -- the magic mirror as a portal to another world isn't exactly a novel idea -- as is the animation, so even the littlest viewers will understand what's happening.

Serious pony fans will get a big laugh out of seeing characters like Pinkie Pie, Apple Jack, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash in teen form, but with their same unique personality traits. Pinkie Pie is particularly hilarious as the super peppy, fast-talking fall formal organizer. As for the villain Sunset Shimmer, she's a perfect "mean girl" who bullies and intimidates everyone at the school. It's sweet relief, therefore, when Twilight Sparkle inevitably defeats Sunset Shimmer's Machiavellian ploy for total control. Pony power indeed.

Families can talk about...

Families can talk about how the ponies transition into teenagers in the other world. Do their personalities stay the same in the alternate universe?

At the beginning of the story, Twilight isn't sure she "has what it takes" to be a princess. What events make her realize she can be a good leader?

How familiar are you with the My Little Pony characters and toys? Does seeing the movie make you want to get the associated toys? Would you have wanted to see the movie if you didn't already watch My Little Pony or have some of the ponies?

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Teaches awful ways of speaking and glamorizes inappropriate clothing

Returned it without even finishing it - awful for little kids! Expected a fun, cute movie -- got ponies that turned into sexed up teenagers, yelling at each other, being mean, and competing in a popularity contest - how is this for kids? At one point, a character yells at another "you're pathetic! no wonder you don't have any friends!" I turned it off and brought it back - definitely not something I want my little girl watching.

Good enough fun to entertain young kids, but people over the age of 12 who take it seriously (I'm looking at you Bronies) will most likely be disappointed

I seriously can't believe MY LITTLE PONY of all things would be a continuation of the "Disney Channel-esque movie" trend, yet here we are. I'm still conflicted on how I feel about this.
For the positives, the movie's real shining point is it's humor and characters, just like the original show. Seeing familiar characters interact in a new environment is a very novel idea, and it allows for lots of humor. Kids and Bronies alike will love seeing some fan favorites in different forms as well. T
Unsurprisingly, the songs are extremely catchy. On the surface, this movie is just plain fun.
However, my main problems don't stem off of any of that. My main negative about this movie has to do with the new characters. I'm going into "nitpicky brony mode" here. Okay, so first, we've got our villain, Sunset Shimmer. Typical mean girl on the outside, apparently a jealous student of Celestia on the inside. I say apparently here because...that's apparently her motive. It's not very strong. There's so much potential here. Let me put it this way: She's literally an evil counterpart for Twilight. If Twilight wasn't kindhearted and got jealous easily, she'd probably end up like Sunset. Even their names are counterparts for each other, so it's kind of obvious that this was intended. That's actually a really awesome plot point that, of course, is never brought up. Not to mention there was so much potental for her backstory and how she stopped being Celestia's student and got jealous of Twilight. Nope. Never brought up.The audience has to just assume that Sunset wants to rule Equestria because...she's jealous of Twilight? I think. It's not clear at all. Of course, I'm just overthinking it. Kids won't care.
There's also Flash Sentry...*sigh*. I could rant about this guy all day. He's basically unneeded to the plot in every way, and awkwardly tacked on for a cheap love interest role. He plays guitar...he's somewhat of a clutz...not much to his character than to exist to give Twilight a pointless love interest. I wouldn't mind as much if Twilight actually got to know him before liking him. However, as soon as she meets him she gets all flirty for no reason whatsoever. This is the same pony who has never shown interest in a stallion before...yet she suddenly falls in love with a human guy for NO REASON. I guess Twilight is just attracted to humans then. That's the only explaination I have. I know you want to sell male dolls Hasbro, but I cringed everytime this guy came on screen.
There's also the climax, which is super corny and unintentionally hilarious for so many reasons. And I loved Sailor Moon when I was little.
Yeah, so, if you're looking for mindless entertainment for little kids, or are a Brony who won't take this seriously, I'd recommend it. It's just brainless fun. However, if you're the nitpicky type who actually cares about the plotting in MLP, you're either going to hate this or like it for the pure cheesiness.

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